10 Enticing Ways to Improve Your Franchising Skills

If you are still new in the franchising game and you’re looking for ways to improve your skills, you’re in the right place. There are steps that you have to take before you actually buy a franchise, but also those that you have to keep doing after you’ve already made the purchase. If, on the other hand, you are the franchisor, your responsibility is big, since you’re leading both the staff and franchisees. A different set of skills is needed for different roles in the franchising business. These useful tips will help you remain successful in the business without any trouble.

Find the right business area

In order to be a successful franchisee, you don’t want to choose your business area based solely on the current popular and successful businesses. An area may be blossoming right now and seem really lucrative, but that doesn’t guarantee success for you. You have to make sure that your skills match the skillset necessary for the job. If you are sure that this is the job you can do, ask yourself whether you want to do it. Your personal interests shouldn’t be neglected since this is an important criterion in choosing a franchise. If you like working with children or not may be a factor in deciding; or whether you can stand the routine or not.

You also have to ask yourself what is your personal goal. Is the money your biggest motivation or not? How much of your time are you ready to invest? Answers to these questions will help you realize what you should focus on. Of course, don’t forget to consult franchisors. They are probably very rich in experience, and they will be able to provide you with useful tips.

Do your research

Before making any huge decisions, be sure that you’ve done your research. Most of the franchisors create profiles online or share information across blogs or social media. If online researching isn’t your favourite, you can attend a franchise expo. This is particularly useful since multiple options will be displayed in one place. This makes it easier for you to compare them. Check the competition. Don’t invest in overpopulated or underpopulated franchises. Whichever method you choose, make sure narrow the options to the best franchise opportunities there are.

When you decide to further research a franchise, there are factors you should take into account. You should research franchisor’s experience. If there are same bankruptcies or litigations in his history, maybe you’ll want to look for someone more secure and serious. Check what is expected of you to pay. This is definitely a piece of information you want to know in advance. Of course, check all currents and former franchisees. The current ones can inform you about the profitability, while the former can tell you what struggles they had. If you are afraid of some kind of a scam, you can ask the same question to multiple people and then judge the consistency of their answers.

Work on your skills

First of all, work on your communication skills. Work with people will be expected from you and you should strive to master it. Earn your employees’ confidence and motivate them. Don’t neglect the relationship with your franchisor either. Money management is also important. An accountant will probably be concerned with this, but that doesn’t mean that you should completely neglect it. Be aware of your profit and loss and what exactly is causing the profit or loss.

The fact that you are investing in a franchise instead of starting the business from scratch doesn’t mean that you won’t have to work hard. On the contrary, it implies a lot of hard work. If you are lazy and have tendencies to procrastinate, you should deal with these first, before you buy a franchise. Another useful skill you should work on is taking advice. There will always be someone who knows more than you and that’s not a bad thing. Especially if you’re a beginner, you should listen to others. You should feel comfortable in the system too. If the structural hierarchy isn’t your thing, you’ll have a lot of problem in the franchising business.

Follow the system

Speaking of the system, this is an important step for your business to be successful. Pay attention to everything during your initial training. Make sure to read all the manuals and consult anyone that can help you. If the system is already successful, why risk it, especially while you are still learning and trying to understand it. Rushing into decisions in such an early stage can cost you a lot, figuratively and literally. This will save you from serious consequences and irreparable damage.

Stay in contact with other franchisees. Don’t rely solely on your experience. Every time you have a question, don’t be afraid to ask. In future, when you are the experienced franchisee, you’ll see what a joy it is to help someone younger and less experienced.

Embrace the brand

To make sure that your franchisor is satisfied with you, follow the manual. If you agree with him and follow the instructions, you are bound to have successful cooperation. You should be compliant with the system and be an advocate for it. Remember, you are there to protect the brand, and you should act accordingly. Don’t throw away the company’s values just because you had an idea, that wasn’t tested yet. Due to the system of franchises, you may affect other clients as well if you don’t always follow the busyness model.

Don’t throw your new ideas away immediately. Just don’t implement them yet. If you are a beginner, you may think that you’ve understood everything, even if that’s not the case. The fact remains that you still don’t have enough experience to back up your propositions. Don’t despair, though, with time, you will get there. Just be patient, take notes, learn, and after a while, you’ll be ready to take the full control.

Be in control

What is great with this sort of business is that you are in control, but you don’t have to start the business from scratch. You just decide to show up one day and be the boss. You do rely on your franchisor, but not so heavily. The protection of the franchised brand is your responsibility. Building a customer base is also your job. You are the one who makes sure that all the employees are trained. You are, also, the one promoting and advertising services or products.

Being a franchisee makes you a kind of a small business owner. This will provide you with a lot of operating experience. If the franchise has multiple locations, purchasing power is increased. That means that the cost for supplies and inventory for each location is reduced. Advertising is also affected by this. Now, with increased regional, and then national ad campaign, you work with a bigger customer base. This can only benefit your business. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Don’t go to the extremes and gamble, but take risks sometimes. Previous to it, make sure that the risk is as small as possible, and that the damage can be reparable, in case you don’t succeed. Don’t let the fear of failure to prevent you from doing something big.

Develop a business plan

This may sound serious and grand but it actually doesn’t have to be. After you’ve chosen a franchise and understood how the system functions, now you can focus on developing a good business plan. Start form determining your purposes and goals. Then look for ways to accomplish those goals. The next step is the description of the business and an explanation of all the operations and processes.

It’s useful to have a list of your employees and their specific assignments and tasks. For a successfully done job, everyone has to have clear instructions. Pay special attention to marketing strategies. They have to differ depending on the type of product you want to advertise. Your finances are also an important part of this process, especially your profit and loss statement. A well thought out business plan is crucial for your success. There is no specific pattern you should follow, but it must show what you want to achieve and how you’re going to achieve it.

Take care of other people

If you are a franchisee, you are between franchisors and employees. This means you have a lot of interpersonal relations to take care of. You should try to always smile and be positive. Your attitude will play a huge role in motivating employees. If you are always kind and polite, the employees are happy. This means that they will do their job more efficiently and with more effort. If you notice that they are divided into groups and that they started gossiping, try to detect the problem and find a suitable solution for it.

You should retain the same attitude with the franchisor. Always play fair and be nice. Those are the things that most appreciated among people. You want to leave a good impression as you can. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you should put up with all sorts of rude things, but you can find a way to get out of those situations with dignity. You want people to take you seriously, and they will if you are professional. There is no need for shouting and any bad blood in the workplace.

Advertise cleverly

All your previous hard work is in vain if no one knows what kind of product or service you can provide. Don’t just wait for your franchisor, but take the matter in your hands and do something. Try different methods of advertising, depending on the product or service. Analyze their effectiveness and act according to the results. Whatever you do, just show the people that you are there and that you can do something for them. If the franchisor has a brand, always use approved trademarks.

Be aware of your target customers when you want to advertise something. Show them the qualities of your product and why they need it. Create a clear marketing plan and then execute it. Plan the whole campaign. Use every source of media, especially the Internet and social networks. Create your own website or a blog. Create a relationship with the customers. Give them an opportunity to publicly comment on your product or service. New customers will be easily attracted if they can see positive unbiased experiences.

Find the right location

Choosing a location is another important decision you have to make. Use more than just your intuition to get to the best option. For example, a location in the periphery of a town may seem like a good option since it’s more affordable than the one downtown. What wouldn’t cross your mind is that this location is farther and more complicated to reach for the customers. On the other hand, there are different factors. A bookstore near a school is a great idea and it will definitely bring in profits. This won’t be a constant state; schools don’t work over the whole year.

For previously stated reasons and examples, you can see why location is such an important feature of your franchise. The fact is that your products can be perfect in every possible way, but if there is no one who’ll buy, it’s all in vain. Think of your average customer when choosing the location. This will help you a lot. Ask yourself questions about their everyday life and struggles, and look for a way to make it easier by opting for a suitable location.

Conclusion

Buying a franchise does sound easy and simple. You have seen that it usually isn’t like that. You can’t get rich overnight. It takes time, practice, and patience to have a successful franchise. It’s not the hardest thing in the world either. Actually, it’s a solid middle ground. If you are ready to work hard and follow these tips, you won’t have any problems in developing your franchise.